Self-propelled train for semi-continuous conveyor systems



Dec. 4, 1962 Filed Aug. 50, 1961 J. M. A. HUBERT 3,066,615

SELF-PROPELLED TRAIN FOR SEMI-CONTINUOUS CONVEYOR SYSTEMS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 4, 1962 J. M. A. HUBERT SELF-PROPELLED TRAIN FOR SEMI-CONTINUOUS CONVEYOR SYSTEMS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 30, 1961 Dec. 4, 1962 J. M. A. HUBERT SELF-PROPELLED TRAIN FOR SEMI-CONTINUOUS CONVEYOR SYSTEMS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 30,. 1961 Y aw 0% NW 3,966,615 SELF-PROPELLED TRAEN FUR SEMLCONTLNU- @Ud CQNVEYOR SYSTEMS Jean M. A. Hubert, Paris, France, assignor to Societe dEtudes et dExploitation pour ie Transport Qontinu par Canalisation Mohile, par Abreviation Seccam, Paris, France, a company of France Filed Aug. 3t 1961, Ser. No. 134,931 Ciaitns priarity, appiication France Sept. 2, 1960 it) Claims. (ill 104-121) In United States Patent No. 3,013,499, dated December 19, 1961, there is described a conveyor system which comprises tubular container elements formed by a series of pipe sections of substantial length; the tops of these sections, optionally, being either open or closed, and the sections being carried by trucks distributed along the length of each of said elements, to provide for movement of the latter along a rail. In particular, said patent shows it to be advantageous to suspend such container element or elements from trucks which ride on a monorail, the said trucks being connected in a chain by articulated joints.

A train formed by a container element or interconnected container elements is preferably propelled by making a certain number of the trucks of the train self-propelled, the others being only carriers.

The present invention relates to an improved selfpropelled train which is intended to support, to propel and to guide the tubular container elements along the supporting track, and has for its principal objects the provision of improved means for interconnecting plural trucks of such a train and guiding them on a supporting rail, and the provision of improved rail-sanding meansv According to the invention, in a conveyor system comprising at least one elongated tubular container element suspended from a plurality of trucks riding on a monorail, each of such trucks has a rigid, elongate body, articulated, toward its front end, approximately in the vertical planeof the monorail, about a vertical axis, on a preceding truck and having, towards its rear end, a single roller riding on the monorail. Each of said trucks is preferably loaded forwardly of its roller and each of said trucks, particularly the carrier trucks, has a hanger carrying a container element, pivoted thereto on an axis parallel to that of the said roller forwardly of the latter. A leading truck is provided having two rollers which are relatively close together and guiding means preventing its lateral inclination; and this leading truck serves to guide a next following truck in the train.

Preferably, said inclination guiding means of the first truck, and somewhat similar guiding means of other trucks of the train, comprise a supplementary rail, parallel to the supporting monorail, and disposed in vertical alignment with the latter, and against which laterally bear auxiliary rollers carried on rigid vertical extensions of said trucks.

In a preferred embodiment, each of the carrier and selfpropelled trucks is guided with precision by an elongate, integral draft bar, pivoted to the preceding truck, and the load of the truck, carried forwardly of its supporting roller, exerts a downwardly directed force strongly tending to maintain the rim of the trucks roller engaged on the rail.

However, when the rail has numerous curves of small radius, it might appear desirable to locate the articulation of the trucks at points equidistantly between the rollers of successive trucks. However, for riding stability, it is suitable for the front articulation point of a truck to be about twice as far from the trucks roller as the spacing of the trucks rear articulation point from its said roller.

The propelling trucks of this train, interposed between the carrier trucks, comprise a roller driven by an electric motor picking up current from trolley conductors parallel to the track, said roller being connected to the motor though the intermediary of a centrifugal coupling.

In addition, in order to stop the conveyor train and to hold the propelling trucks roller against turning when the conveyor is at rest, a brake shoe is provided to act upon the rim of the propelling roller; said brake shoe being acted upon by an external force for braking efiect. Said shoe may be disengaged from said roller by an electromagnet operating on the same current as the motor which drives said roller; the electric circuit arrangement being such that, as the brake is released, the motor commences to rotate before turning the driving roller through the intermediary of the centrifugal coupling. Thus, current peaks are practically suppressed as the train is started.

Conversely, the breaking of the current to the motor of the propelling roller also breaks the current to the electromagnet and trees the brake shoe to engage said roller to retard and stop the train.

In addition, each propelling truck preferably includes a sanding device to enhance traction of the propelling roller upon the rail; the sanding device operating automatically to ensure the interposition of sand (or other suitable pulverulent material) between the propelling roller and the rail each time that this is necessary and only when it is necessary.

Since the self-propelled trucks are of small dimensions, it is not possible for each of them to carry a large quantity of sand, hence, a relatively small quantity of sand which is carried is used most efiiciently and only when needed. For that purpose, a shutofi valve controlling the dispensing of sand, is opened only when, through slippage of a propelling roller on the rail, said roller operates at a substantially diflerent speed than a carrier truck roller which is not subject to such slippage. Accordingly, two identical power-transmitting control devices are provided, one driven by the driving roller of the self-propelled truck, and the other driven by a carrier roller of the same diameter, of a connected carrier truck. Any material ditference in the relative speeds of said driving and carrier rollers gives rise to a differential in the power transmitted by the two control devices, which diiferential power so controls means for operating said shut-off valve as to open it to discharge sand to overcome the slippage.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the two mentioned power-transmitting control devices, connected to the propelling and carrier rollers are volumetric pumps of which the intake sides and the discharge sides are inversely interconnected by piping which is connected through suitable oppositely acting valves to a fluid-pressure actuated operator for the said shut-off valve. A piston of said valve operator is directly connected to said valve and is spring-urged in the closing direction of the valve, while unbalanced operation of said pumps causes fluid from the latter to force the piston to move in opening direction of said shut-oil valve.

Preferably, the piston has a small bleed-like passage therethrough, causing the shut-off valve to be opened only at or above a predetermined difference of speed of operation of the two pumps.

A preferred embodiment of a self-propelled train, according to this invention, is illustrated, by way of ore ample, in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a conveyor system utilizing the self-propelled train.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view, substantially on the line IL-II of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a driving truck of said train.

E t-iterated Dec. 4, 11962 I FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view, substantially on the line lV--IV of FIG. 3.

FIG. is a view, partly in elevation and partly in vertical section, illustrating a preferred form of railsanding device.

The conveyor train shown in PEG. 1 is movable along a carrier rail 1, above which is disposed a guiding rail 2, which may with advantage be a tube. As shown in FIG. 2, the rails 1 and 2 may with advantage be disposed, respectively, along the lower and upper flanges 4 of a girder 3 of )(-shape in cross-section, in which girder the said rails reinforce said flanges.

A succession of trucks rides on the rail l, which trucks support a container element 5, shown as trough-shaped in cross-section. The container element may also be of other shapes, as, for example, a cylindrical section of semi-rigid tubular piping, useful for the conveyance of liquids. The element 5, closed at its ends, can have a length of from several tens of meters to a thousand meters.

The arrangement shown in FIG. 2 enables two tracks to be established parallel to one another, one for outgoing movement of loaded container elements and the other for return movement of empty container elements.

The trucks which support the container element 5 shown in FIG. 1 are of three dilferent kinds, namely a leading truck 6, carrier trucks 7 and self-propelled trucks 8 distributed between the carrier trucks 7, for example, one self-propelled truck for ten carrier trucks.

The leading truck 6 comprises two rollers 13 spaced apart a distance of from three to six times the diameter of these rollers and mounted in a rigid frame 14 which comprises an upright member 15, carrying two guiding rollers 16 borne in a fork at the top of the member and in rolling engagement with opposite sides of the guiding rail 2.

The trucks 7 and 8, i.e. the carrier trucks and the selfpropelled trucks, each comprises a rigid, elongated, forwardly extending member 17 which serves as a coupling or draft bar articulated on a rigid rear extension 17a of the preceding carriage by a vertical pin 18. The coupling bar may be in the form of a metal tube having, at its front end, a clevis 19 to receive the pin 18. Toward its rear end, the coupling bar 17 is rigidly secured to a truck frame or body 20 having two side plates 20a carrying a shaft 21 of a carrier roller 22 in the case of a truck 7 or the shaft 47 of a roller 36 driven by a motor 9 in the case of a truck 8. At the rear of each of trucks 7 and 8, the two side plates 20a are joined to form the trucks rear extension 17a, which terminates in an eye 23 for reception of the pin 18.

As shown in FIG. 1, the draft bar members 17 of the trucks, are articulated toward the rear of the preceding truck and close to the latters roller. This arrangement aids in guiding the trucks on a straight rail but leads, at curves in the rail 1, to considerable friction of the cheeks of the rim of the rollers 22 and against the rail. In order to avoid such friction entirely, it would be necessary for the pin 18 to be exactly midway between the rollers of two successive trucks. The latter arrangement, however, while ideal on curves, would cause dangerous zig-zag or undulating movements of the train when running on a straight track. Consequently, when the track of an installation has numerous curves of small radius (for example, of the order of 50 meters), the articulation of the trucks is preferably so arranged that the articulation pin 18 is situated, in the direction of the advance of the train, at the first third of the distance between the rollers of two successive trucks.

Forwardly of the shaft 21, there is connected to the truck frame 24 an upper stud portion 24a of a hanger 24 which is in the general shape of an 8; said stud portion effecting articulation of the hanger on the truck. A lower part 24b of the hanger supports the container element 5 substantially in vertical alignment with the rails 1 and 2,

4 a plurality of such hangers being provided, of course, along the container element.

Since the center of gravity of the trucks 7 and 8 is lowered by the weight of the hangers 24, of the carrier element 5 and of any load in the latter, it would be possible to dispense with guiding means for these trucks apart from the carrier rail 1. However, in order to avoid transverse swinging of the container element, as, for example, in high winds or along sinuous portions of the track formed by the rail 1, each of the trucks 7 comprises a rigid upright member 25 and each of trucks 8 comprises an upright guide member or post 55}, the two latter members being provided (like leading truck a) with rollers 16 applied against opposite sides of the rail 2. These upright members are situated perpendicularly to the rollers riding on the rail i, so that the hangers 2d, the container element 5, and each of the trucks 7 and 8, by the described coaction with rail 2, are prevented from swinging transversely of the rails.

For supplying power to the self-propelled trucks 8, the girder 3 (FIG. 2) supports trolley wires 11, by moans of insulators 12 fixed to cross-pieces of the girder, from which trolley wires the current is picked up by trolleys llil of said trucks.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show in detail the arrangement of one of the self-propelled trucks d. The motor 9, fixed laterally against the truck frame 24 drives the wheel 30 through the intermediary of a centrifugal coupling 31 (hydraulic, weight, ball or powder type) and of a pair of bevel pinions 32 housed in a casing 33. The open end 9a of the motor preferably faces toward the front of the truck, thereby assisting cooling of the motor.

The weight of the motor 9, coupling 31, and other parts of the truck 8, which is localized towards one side of the monorail 1, is preferably equalized by a counterpoise 60 (FIGS. 2 and 3) carried by angular brackets 61 secured to the truck frame 20. Moreover, said coun terpoise lowers the center of gravity of the truck 8 and increases the weight carried by its roller 39, thereby enhancing coaction of the latter with rail 1.

A brake shoe 34, pivoted upon a shaft 35 and urged in the direction of disengagement by a spring 36, acts on the rim of the roller 3% The brake shoe is so arranged that it tends to increase its engagement within the groove of the roller when the latter rotates.

The shoe 34 may be pressed against the wheel by the weight of a lever 37 pivotally mounted at one end at 38 and operatively connected by a rod 39, to a movable armature 40. The latter may be attracted by an electro-magnet 41 the winding 42 of which is traversed by the supply current of the motor 9. In both directions the movement of the lever 37 is damped by a dash-pot 46. Preferably, the application of the weight of the lever 37 on the shoe 34 takes place through the intermediary of an adjusting screw 43 which bears on a plate 44, fixed to the shoe by readily fusible solder, for example, Darcet alloy (melting point about C.) and downward movement of the lever 37 is limited by an adjustable stop 62.

It will be realized that, in a train comprising a plurality of self-propelled trucks, a breakdown of one of them causes no inconvenience.

If, when voltage is applied to the wires 11, one of electro-magnets 4-1 does not atract its related armature 40 to disengage the brake shoe, the turning of the roller in contact with the shoe heats the latter, causing melting of the solder by which the plate 44 is fixed to the shoe and, in a short time, the plate 44 becomes displaced and the shoe is disengaged by the lever 37 which is held up by the stop 62.

Between the electro-magnet 41 and the guiding post 519, the self-propelled truck 8 carries a reservoir 75 of sand closed by a cover 76 and situated above a hopper This. hopper is extended by a chute 36 of U-shape in cross-section, the spout 86a of which terminates close to the rail 1 and immediately in advance of the point of contact of roller 30 with said rail. The bottom of the reservoir 75 is closed by a shut-off valve 90 carried by an s-shaped rod 91' which is controlled by a fluid-pressure device 92 to operate said valve.

The shaft 47 of the roller 36 extends from the casing 33 and driectly drives one of two interacting gears of a gear pump P1, while an extension 21a (FIG. 5) of a shaft 21 of roller 22. of the nearest carrier truck drives a similar pump P2 (FIGS. 1 and 5); these two pumps supplying the device 92 difierentially. As these pumps function to transmit power from said rollers to control device 92, they are generally referred to herein as powertransmitting control devices.

The delivery side of the first pump P1 is connected to the suction side of the second pump P2 by a pipe 97 and the delivery side of pump P2 is connected to the suction side of the first pump by a pipe 96. Preferably the pipes 97 and 96 are flexible and fixed by suitable clips to the extension 17a as indicated in FIG. 1.

Connected to the pipes 97 and 96, respectively, are branch pipes 101 and 132 which are connected to the device 92.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, the device 92 comprises a double-acting hydraulically actuated piston 9?, which works in a cylinder 98 and is biased upwardly by a spring 1% and connected rigidly by the rod @It to the valve dd which, in its uppermost position, closes the discharge orifice of the reservoir 75. The two pipes till and N2 terminate at and communicate with an upper compartment 983 of the device 92 by way of inlet valves 191A and 102A and communicate with a lower compartment 981 of said device by way of exhaust valves rare and N23. A diaphragm may be employed as an equivalent of said piston.

The piston $9 is provided with a narrow passage 99a which provides fluid communication between the compartments 931 and 98S.

In the lower part of the cylinder 93, is a by-pass tea, the outlets of which, in the piston chamber of the cylinder, are spaced apart a distance greater than the height of the piston 99. In a lower position of piston 99 (valve 96 then being open), the bypass 1% enables oil in the hydraulic system to pass from the upper compartment to the lower compartment 981. An oil-tight expansion vessel 165, tilled with oil, provides a continuous supply of oil to the hydraulic system.

The manner of operation of the disclosed arrangement as follows:

If, at the time of starting of the train, slipping of the driving roller 34 on rail 1 occurs, pump Pll operates faster than pump iZ, and the excess discharge of pump P1 is forced through pipe Iltll and valve lltllA into the compartment 988. If this flow of liquid is small, it all passes through the passage 99a, chamber 981, and the exhaust valve 1028, back to the pump P1. The passage 99a thus determines, by its dimension, the extent of relative sliding or slipping of the driving roller 3% which is tolerated without causing sanding of the rail to occur.

If such slipping is greater than may be tolerated, the excess discharge from pump P1 is greater than can be handled apace through passage 9%, causing pressure to rise in the compartment 933, forcing the piston 99 down wardly so that oil flows not only through the channel 99a, but also through the by-pass 194. The downward movement of the piston opens valve W, whereupon sand rapidly fills the hopper '77, from which sand commences to how out through a calibrated orifice 106 into the chute 86 and onto the rail 1.

Traction between the driving roller 30 and the rail 1 quickly increases, whereupon the operating speeds of the pumps P1 and P2 become equalized and the piston 99 rises and closes the shut-off valve 90. The sand remaining G in the hopper 77, however, continues to flow onto the rail thereby maintaining adequate traction until the train gains sufiicient momentum. If, when the hopper is empty, slipping occurs again, the rail will again be sanded in the manner just described.

At the time of stopping of the train, the brake shoe 34, acting on the roller 30, slows down or locks the latter, causing it to slide on the rail; as a result, the speed of pump P2 becomes greater than that of pump P1. An excess of oil then passes to the device 92 through pipe 1'02 and valve MBA and passes from said device by valve 191B and pipe Kill, acting, as previously described, on the piston 99 to open shut-off valve if the excess of oil is suflicient. Thus, whenever substantial sliding of roller 36 occurs, the hopper 77 is filled with sand which is dis charged upon the rail 1 to suppress such sliding for a duration which depends on the capacity of the hopper.

In the embodiment of the self-propelled truck shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the motor, the electro-magnet and the sand reservoir constitute a considerable load on the truck, in front of the roller 36. For better distribution of weight, an adjacent hanger 24 may be placed behind the shaft of roller 36.

As propulsion of the train of container elements derives from self-propelled trucks 3 interspersed among carrier trucks 7 rather than from the leading truck 6, the propulsion of the train does not create any material tendency toward derailment on curves of the rail. Additionally, the length of the coupling bar 17' on each of the carrier and self-propelled trucks is such that said bars serve to so guide said trucks that their rollers 22, 30 are aimed to follow the curvature of the rail, thereby reducing the possibility of derailment. Moreover, the weight of the hanger 24 and container elements 5 and their contents, exerts a force tending strongly to maintain the grooves of the rollers 22 and 39 in vertical alignment with said hangers. The train of container elements may, therefore, be propelled along its track, if desired, at high speed (for example, of the order of 10 meters per second) with out risk of derailment.

I claim:

1. A self-propelled train for the conveying of a container element.of such substantial length as to require support at plural points therealong, which train comprises a plurality of carrier trucks, and self-propelled trucks interspersed among said carrier trucks, all said trucks being interconnected and rolling on a monorail, and said container element being suspended from said trucks, said train being characterized in that each of said trucks comprises a rigid, elongate body, articulated toward its front end, substantially in the vertical plane of the monorail, about a vertical axis, on a next preceding truck and being provided, toward its rear end, with a single supporting roller riding on the monorail, and said carrier trucks each comprising a hanger carrying the container element, which hanger is pivoted to said body forwardly of said roller, on an axis parallel to the axis of said roller, and the train including a leading truck comprising two wheels rolling on said monorail in tandem relationship, and a guiding device preventing its lateral inclination.

2. A train according to claim 1, in which the guiding of the leading truck is ensured by a guide rail parallel to said monorail and disposed in the vertical plane of the latter, the said leading truck comprising a pair of guiding rollers arranged to roll on opposite sides of said guide rail.

3. A train according to claim 2, said guide rail being above said monorail, each of said trucks comprising a rigid upwardly directed extension perpendicular to the axis of its supporting roller, and said extension being provided with rollers cooperating with said guide rail at opposite sides thereof.

4. A train according to claim 1, in which the distance between the two wheels of the leading truck is of the order of from three to six times the diameter of said wheels.

5. A train according to claim 1, in which each selfpropelled truck comprises an electric motor picking up current from at least one trolley wire parallel to the monorail and driving the single supporting roller of the truck through the intermediary of a centrifugal coupling, and a brake shoe', urged toward engage position relatively to said roller by the action of a weight capable of being raised by an electro-magnet supplied by the same voltage as said motor.

6. A train according to claim 5, in which the brake shoe is spring-urged toward disengaged position, and said weight has limited movement and bears on said shoe through the intermediary of bearing means fixed to the shoe by means of a material of low melting point.

7. A train according to claim 1, in which each selfpropelled truck carries a sand reservoir which communicates, through the intermediary of a shut-E valve, with a chute terminating close to the propelled trucks supporting roller, and in which two identical power-transmitting control devices, carried by the train, are operated, one by the supporting roller of a carrier truck and the other by the supporting roller of an adjacent self-propelled truck, said self-propelled truck including, thereon, operating mean for operating said shut-ofi valve; said control devices being so interconnected as to o-pposingly transmit power from said supporting rollers, and being so connected to said operating means as to transmit, to the latter,

the difference of power resulting from such opposite transmission by the two aid control devices, and said operating means being adapted to open said shut-oh valve in response to said difference of power.

8. A train according to claim 7, in which, between the reservoir and the chute, there is arranged a hopper which communicates with said chute by means of a calibrated orifice.

9. A train according to claim 7, in which the two power-transmitting control devices are volumetric liquid pumps the suction side of each being connected by piping to the delivery side of the other, the corresponding interconnecting pipes each comprising a branch connected by way of opposed valves to two compartments of a cylinder of. said shut-off valve operating means, said operating means comprising a piston operatively connected to said valve and urged yieldably in closing direction of said valve, said piston working in said cylinder and the latter having a lateral by-pass, the outlets of which, in the side wall of the cylinder, are spaced apart a distance greater than the axial length of the piston, said by-pass becoming operative when the piston is moved in opening direction of said valve.

10. A train according to claim 9, in which said piston has a passage therein providing fluid communication between said two compartments.

NO references cited. 

